§19.28Διὰ τί νόμοι καλοῦνται οὓς ᾄδουσιν;
Why are the songs they sing called 'nomoi' (laws)?
ἢ ὅτι πρὶν ἐπίστασθαι γράμματα, ᾖδον τοὺς νόμους, ὅπως μὴ ἐπιλάθωνται, ὥσπερ ἐν Ἀγαθύρσοις ἔτι εἰώθασιν;
Or is it because before people knew how to write, they used to sing their laws so that they would not forget them, as is still customary among the Agathyrsi?
καὶ τῶν ὑστέρων οὖν ᾠδῶν τὰς πρώτας τὸ οὐτὸ ἐκάλεσαν ὅπερ τὰς πρώτας.
And so they called the first of the subsequent songs by the same name as the first.
§19.29Διὰ τί οἱ ῥυθμοὶ καὶ τὰ μέλη φωνὴ οὖσα ἤθεσιν ἔοικεν, οἱ δὲ χυμοὶ οὔ, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ τὰ χρώματα καὶ αἱ ὀσμαί;
Why is it that rhythms and melodies, which are sound, resemble characters (ethe), while flavors do not, nor do colors and odors?
ἢ ὅτι κινήσεις εἰσὶν ὥσπερ καὶ αἱ πράξεις;
Or is it because they are movements, just as actions are?
ἤδη δὲ ἡ μὲν ἐνέργεια ἠθικὸν καὶ ποιεῖ ἦθος, οἱ δὲ χυμοὶ καὶ τὰ χρώματα οὐ ποιοῦσιν ὁμοίως.
For active exercise (energeia) is already ethical and produces character, whereas flavors and colors do not do so in the same way.
§19.30Διὰ τί οὐδὲ ὑποδωριστὶ οὐδὲ ὑποφρυγιστὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τραγῳδίᾳ χορικόν;
Why is there no choral song in tragedy in either the Hypodorian or the Hypophrygian mode?
ἢ ὅτι οὐκ ἔχει ἀντίστροφον.
Or is it because they do not have an antistrophe?
ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ σκηνῆς· μιμητικὴ γάρ.
Rather, they are performed from the stage, for they are imitative.
§19.31Διὰ τί οἱ περὶ Φρύνιχον ἦσαν μᾶλλον μελοποιοί;
Why were Phrynichus and his contemporaries more of songwriters?
ἢ διὰ τὸ πολλαπλάσια εἶναι τότε τὰ μέλη ἐν ταῖς τραγῳδίαις τῶν μέτρων;
Or was it because at that time the melodies in tragedies were many times more numerous than the verses?
§19.32Διὰ τί διὰ πασῶν καλεῖται, ἀλλ’ οὐ κατὰ τὸν ἀριθμὸν δι’ ὀκτώ, ὥσπερ καὶ διὰ τεττάρων καὶ διὰ πέντε;
Why is it called 'dia pason' (through all), and not 'dia okto' (through eight) according to number, just as we have 'dia tessaron' (through four) and 'dia pente' (through five)?
ἢ ὅτι ἑπτὰ ἦσαν αἱ χορδαὶ τὸ ἀρχαῖον.
Or is it because in ancient times the strings were seven?
εἶτ’ ἐξελὼν τὴν τρίτην Τέρπανδρος τὴν νήτην προσέθηκεν, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτου ἐκλήθη διὰ πασῶν, ἀλλ’ οὐ δι’ ὀκτώ· ἑπτὰ γὰρ ἦν.
Then Terpander, having removed the third string, added the nete, and in his time it was called 'dia pason' but not 'dia okto'; for they were seven.
§19.33Διὰ τί εὐαρμοστότερον 〈ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀξέος〉 ἐπὶ τὸ βαρὺ ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ βαρέος ἐπὶ τὸ ὀξύ;
Why is it more tuneful to go from the high pitch to the low than from the low pitch to the high?
πότερον ὅτι τὸ 〈μὲν〉 ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς γίνεται ἄρχεσθαι;
Is it because the former starts from the beginning?
ἡ γὰρ μέση καὶ ἡγεμὼν 〈καὶ〉 ὀξυτάτη τοῦ τετραχόρδου.
For the mese is the leader and the highest note of the tetrachord.
τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς, ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ τελευτῆς.
But the latter starts not from the beginning but from the end.
ἢ ὅτι τὸ βαρὺ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀξέος γενναιότερον καὶ εὐφωνότερον;
Or is it because the low pitch coming from the high is nobler and better in sound?
§19.34Διὰ τί δὶς μὲν δι’ ὀξειῶν καὶ δὶς διὰ τεττάρων οὐ συμσυμφωνεῖ, δὶς διὰ πασῶν δέ;
Why is it that a double fifth and a double fourth do not consort, but a double octave does?
ἢ ὅτι οὐ δὶς δι’ ὀξειῶν οὐδὲ δὶς διὰ τεττάρων. . . ἐστὶν, τὸ δὲ διὰ τεττάρων καὶ διὰ πέντε. . .
Or is it because a double fifth and a double fourth are not [...], whereas the fourth and the fifth are [...]?
§19.35Διὰ τί ἡ διὰ πασῶν καλλίστη συμφωνία;
Why is the octave the most beautiful consonance?
ἢ ὅτι ἐν ὅλοις ὅροις οἱ ταύτης λόγοι εἰσίν, οἱ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων οὐκ ἐν ὅλοις;
Or is it because its ratios are in whole terms, while those of the others are not in whole terms?
ἐπεὶ γὰρ διπλασία ἡ νήτη τῆς ὑπάτης, οἷα ἡ νήτη δύο, ἡ ὑπάτη ἕν, καὶ οἷα ἡ ὑπάτη δύο, ἡ νήτη τέσσαρα, καὶ ἀεὶ οὕτως.
For since the nete is double the hypate, just as the nete is two, the hypate is one, and as the hypate is two, the nete is four, and always so.
τῆς δὲ μέσης ἡμιολία.
But in relation to the mese, it is one and a half.
τὸ γὰρ διὰ πέντε ἡμιόλιον οὐκ ἐν ὅλοις ἀριθμοῖς ἐστίν· οἷον γὰρ ἓν τὸ ἔλαττον, τὸ μεῖζον τοσοῦτον δὲ καὶ ἔτι τὸ ἥμισυ.
For the fifth, being one and a half, is not in whole numbers; for instance, if the smaller is one, the larger is as much and its half besides.
ὥστε οὐχ ὅλα πρὸς ὅλα συγκρίνεται, ἀλλ’ ἔπεστι μέρη.
So that wholes are not compared with wholes, but parts are added.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ διὰ τεττάρων ἔχει· τὸ γὰρ ἐπίτριτόν ἐστιν ὅσον τεμεῖν ὅ καὶ ἔτι ἕν τῶν τριῶν [ἐπίτριτόν ἐστιν].
And the same is true in the case of the fourth; for the ratio of four to three is as much as to divide a whole and add one of the three parts besides.
ἢ ὅτι τελεωτάτη ἡ ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων οὖσα, καὶ ὅτι μέτρον τῆς μελῳδίας. . .
Or is it because it is the most perfect, being composed of both, and because it is the measure of melody [...]?
διὰ παντὸς τοῦ φερομένου ἡ κατὰ μέσον κίνησις σφοδροτάτη, ἀρχομένου δὲ καὶ λήγοντος μαλακωτέρα;
Is it because in everything that is carried along, the movement at the middle is most violent, but at the start and end it is gentler?
ὅτε δὲ σφοδροτάτη ἡ κίνησις, καὶ ἡ φωνὴ ὀξυτέρα τοῦ φερομένου.
And when the movement is most violent, the sound of what is carried along is also higher.
διὸ καὶ χορδαὶ ἐπιτεινόμεναι ὀξύτερον φθέγγονται· θᾶττον γὰρ ἡ κίνησις γίνεται.
Therefore also strings when stretched sound higher; for the movement becomes faster.
εἰ δὲ φωνὴ ἢ ἀέρος ἢ ἄλλου τινὸς φορά· τὴν ἀνὰ μέσον τὸν πόρον ὀξυτάτην δεῖ γίνεσθαι.
And if sound is a carrying along of air or of something else, it must become fastest in the middle of its passage.
ὥστε εἰ τοῦτο μὴ συμβαίνει, οὐκ ἂν εἴη φορά τινος.
So if this does not happen, it would not be a carrying along of anything.
§19.36Διὰ τί, ἐὰν μὲν ἡ μέση κινηθῇ, καὶ αἱ ἄλλαι χορδαὶ ἠχοῦσι φθεγγόμεναι, ἐὰν δὲ αὖ ἡ μὲν μένῃ τῶν δ’ ἄλλων τις κινηθῇ, κινηθεῖσα μόνη φθέγγεται;
Why is it that if the mese is altered, the other strings also sound when played, but on the other hand, if the mese remains and one of the other strings is altered, only the altered one sounds?
ἢ ὅτι τὸ ἡρμόσθαι ἐστὶν ἁπάσαις, τὸ δὲ ἔχειν πως πρὸς τὴν μέσην ἁπάσαις, καί ῃ τάξις ἡ ἑκάστης ἤδη δι’ ἐκείνην;
Or is it because to be in tune is common to all of them, and to stand in a certain relation to the mese belongs to all, and the position of each is already determined by it?
ἀρθέντος οὖν τοῦ αἰτίου τοῦ ἡρμόσθαι καὶ τοῦ συνέχοντος οὐκέτι ὁμοίως φαίνεται ὑπάρχειν.
Therefore, when the cause of their being in tune and what holds them together is removed, they no longer appear to be in the same state.
μιᾶς δὲ ἀναρμόστου οὔσης, τῆς δὲ μέσης μενούσης, εὐλόγως τὸ κατ’ αὐτὴν ἐκλειπόμενον· ταῖς γὰρ ἄλλαις ὑπάρχει τὸ ἡρμόσθαι.
But when only one string is out of tune, while the mese remains, it is reasonable that only what concerns that particular string is lacking; for to the other strings, being in tune still belongs.